With only 3000 bikes being produced for this year, it sounds like Yamaha are being cautious of the economy and sales figures. Better to sell them all and run out of product than judge it wrong and sit on stock.

Yamaha may end up regretting not including the US in the initial launch, or they may, if we're lucky, move up any planned launch date (assuming they have the capacity to build more bikes quickly, or redirect some). This from a respected blogger on cameras, but I suspect the same will apply to Japanese motorcycle manufacturers;

"If the Euro continues to weaken against the yen, camera (motorcycle?) companies will import fewer items into Europe and more into other areas, like the US or SE Asia. Ironically, prices may increase in Europe but fall in the US if the Euro continues to slide. Why would the US prices fall? Because moving inventory originally destined for Europe to the US would require incentives in order to get it off US dealer shelves. But even a 5% discount in the US would beat a 10% loss in the European markets."

I think YAMAHA's decision sensible for the company while being frustrating for the consumer.

America seems like a different market (from a distance) than the Euro / S African / Australian markets.

More slab, the home of the cruiser / tourer.

The current release style allows YAMAHA to set a price it thinks is applicable to the recession induced demand slump while making money on the projected small unit sales. That may induce some to say F$%*(k you YAMAHA and go and by something else, but it would not be very sustainable for YAMAHA to go all gung ho and end up with a first release model that takes 3 years to clear excess stock.

That just leads to customers saying "F$%*(k you YAMAHA and go and by something else new wiz bang S1000RR/GS or something.

Considering the amount of comments on this thread about dealers being clueless when it comes to YAMAHA's non cruiser offerings, I don't blame them.

Secondly, YAMAHA (or anyone) could make a technically brilliant bike and still be left at the alter because of psychological issues.

Having ridden approaching 3000km on the XT1200z (and being an owner of a TRX engined old super tenere) I have a fair impression on what they ride like.

Initially I was a little disappointed. The engine seemed rather wheezy and down on power to to the claimed 110hp. In fact I'd go as far as saying a seat of the pants feel left me thinking it didn’t have much more power than my XTZ850 (which runs at 85hp (ish) at the rear wheel). I guestimate a round 90hp @ the rear wheel for the 1200. I suspect that the shaft drive is sapping a fair chunk of power but the wheeziness is down to ever tighter emission regulations. A power commander and an Akrapovich system will transform the performance I have no doubt. I understand that Yamaha and Akropovich work closely together and the system has already been developed. A Power commander will also be required as the ECU won’t take kindly to having the Cat removed without some trickery.

That said, the bikes no slouch, its no sports bike but the power delivery is smooth across the rev range with only a slight dip around 4.5k. Overtakes were a breeze and I had the bike up to 220kmh on a few occasions in the desert. Some claimed they saw as high as 230kmh with the bikes loaded up with panniers and top box.

It wasn’t until the second day of riding the bike that I began to not e concerned about the engine and really started appreciating what it was about. The seat was without doubt the most comfortable seat I've ever sat on a bike of this type. The riding position was very natural when seated. 8 hours in the saddle and no aches or pains at all, blooming brilliant. When stood up on the pegs, I felt the pegs could have been half an inch or so further back.

On day two I began to suspect that the traction control system was affecting power delivery. With the traction control system turned off the bike did indeed feel a little bit more responsive however I soon learnt why.... Unknown to me until I turned the traction control off was how slippery the road surfaces were. It was as if the tarmac had been polished smooth by all the airborne dust and sand. The fact that I found I could get the back end to step out at will now on the bends wasn’t because I had found an extra 20 horses at all, it was because the roads were so damn slippery and the traction control system had been quite rightly stopping me from doing something stupid.

By the end of the five day ride I was convinced. The traction control system is the dogs bollox. If you're brave enough, you can hit the apex of a bend on full lean and just open the throttle wide and put your faith in the traction control which will provide the maximum amount of power down possible without letting you lose traction with no drama and no fuss.

The brakes I could not fault. I'm not a fan of liked brakes generally but these seem to have been given a great deal of thought. Apply the front only and it'll apply the brakes at about 50/50 fr/r. Apply the back brake only and it'll work independently. The ABS system is the best I've tried on a bike. Very smooth indeed, no pulsing no noise; in fact it’s quite hard to tell it’s even coming on. I found I could steam into a tight gravel strewn bend, and apply the back brake hard mid corner and other than a little squirm from the back end this deliberate act of stupidity was corrected automatically by the bikes advanced traction and braking systems. I did notice that the extra confidence this gave probably increased our road speeds so rather than making the bike safer, this technology might actually in increase risk.

The bikes handling was also surprisingly good. A very neutral and planted feel compared to all other adventure style bikes I've tried. I like the 19" front wheel setup as it allows for much sharper steering and a more sports bike feel yet for the relatively sedate pace of offroading a bike like this, I don’t think the smaller wheel size is much of an impact.

To give a little insight, on day one when we rode from Lisbon to Jerez when we got to the mountain roads a group of three of us left the main pack and were hot on the heels of Randy Mamola who was clearly having an absolute ball throwing the bike around. Pegs and panniers scraping using all of the road and blasting past absolutely everything for two hours straight with the throttles pinned at every opportunity and the ABS light blinking away on every approach it was a ride I'll never forget. I feel very privileged to have had that opportunity and not once in that ride did I yearn to be astride a lightweight sports bike (which should speak volumes).

Off-road, it was... erm.... interesting. The bikes were shod with road tyres which by that point we'd pretty much wrecked (yes, front and back tyres trashed in 3000 miles), so riding in sand required a great amount of concentration to stay right side up. The bike felt easier to ride than my XTZ850 but harder than my KLR650 off-road. The suspension was a little too soft on the front and I managed to bottom out the forks a couple of times but the backend was surprisingly capable. Ground clearance might become an issue under extreme circumstances as I managed to ground the sump guard once after a heavy landing. As you can see in one of the videos, Helder Rodruigez managed to take his stock XT1200 with bald tyres up and over some pretty large dunes so it’s not so much what you ride but how good you are at it.... and he is extremely good.

Speaking with someone that worked on the bikes development (also a Dakar rider), I was assured the bike was going to be like the new FJ1300 in that the modern technology improvements and tighter tolerances combined with modern oils meant that these new engines will be totally reliable and capable of achieving really really high mileages with out problem. The bikes had also been tested to run on low quality fuel and even the cat would shrug off having to use leaded fuel. It was quite lengthy and frank conversation I had and I was left feeling quite positive and assured that I wasn’t being spun a yarn and that Yamaha had spent a considerable time getting this right. (4 years of development allegedly)

There are one or two design flaws I spotted, the first being the panniers which although they look aluminium are actually plastic - which on two bikes were broken off in a relatively low speed tumble. Another one which may or may not be a problem was the frame design on the LHS where it had to be bent around the output shaft in order to clear it. Certainly my limited engineering exposure made me double take when I saw it as it was clearly something that gave Yamaha a few headaches. Whether the design proves to be strong enough or not, only time will tell. Let’s hope they learnt from the previous Super Tenere's incarnation (where the frames snap in a similar place).

Oh, one more snippet.... Despite the Yamaha official advice, the ABS system can be turned off completely for riding offroad. It requires the removal of a fuse on the same circuit as the speedo. Thanks to the non canbus system it should be pretty easy to farkle a simple switch to isolate just the ABS so that it can be deactivated when required.

Would I buy one? I must say I had to think this through as my heart was telling me to go straight down to the dealer and get one ordered. My head hower is telling me to wait a little and see where the prices go. I suspect that in a year or so the 14,000 Euro price tag will drop somewhat especially when one considers that you can buy a similarly equipped 1200 Bandit for half that money.

Hell I could buy a brand new BKing and have change to buy a 1150GS to go along side.

I will own one at some point but my pockets aren't deep enough to swallow the depreciation I suspect the first editions will suffer.

I wouldnt be surprised however if in years to come the XT1200Z will prove to be the thinking mans adventure motorcycle of choice.

WOW. I can't write down any more. Although for some points I can agree with Spike's excellent riding report, on some other points I had other experiences.

NOTE: I don't ride any Yamaha Parallel twin but an 90 degree Honda Varadero V-twin. So my 'base of comparising' is somehow different... Which has not to be an problem though!

Yesterday I had an 320 km test-spin on the new Yamaha Super Tenere. What an INCREDIBLE good and well thought trough motorcycle it is.

Everything comes together on the new S10 (short for Super Tenere). The excellent suspension, the excellent engine mapping, the excellent combined brakes (except the rear brake!), the excellent fuel consumption (had strong side- and headwind during the entire day and after 320 km I topped the 23 L fuel tank with only 18 liters...! On a bike with (after my ride) only 550 km on the ODO!). Comfort is great - even with my 6,8 ft tall body. It is the very first big trail bike on which I can use the rear view mirrors - without looking to both my shoulders. Well done. Protection to the climate is good, although the Varadero scores higher on all-weather protection. But it's great, and much, much better than the weather protection on a R1200GSA.

The mapping is excellent and easy selected. Choose S for Sport, T for Touring. Choose S once, and you will never choose T again. Same goes for the traction control. Excellent work! I'm still puzzling why Honda abandoned the excellent ABS/TCS system of the MK1 ST1100 Pan European.

The saddle and screen are adjustable. The seating comfort over spans that of the Varadero - by far. The saddle is some how harder - no more problems with your rear parts on a long run.

The S10 puts 260 kg on the scale. I DONT BELIEVE THIS LIE! It can't be more heavier than 200 kg. It feels just so light and agile, you won't believe it. Even fully fuelled. Maneuvering is just so easy. All the weight must be down under. Which is great for dirt roads and proper off-roading, but sh* with strong head- and side wind like I had yesterday. It can’t keep in one line with strong wind, feels very nervous under these conditions. Not good. Maneuvering at low speed requires a slipping clutch to keep the engine above 2.000 RPM. Under 2.000 RPM the engine starts to play up. Nothing which can’t be fixed with a powercommander though.

Engine is great, although the R1200GSA boxer is more refined, more cultivated. In all gears I've noticed a strange vibration between 3.000 / 3.500 RPM; as if inside the engine something is running un- lubricated. The bike still runs very fluently though; it is if you ride a Vtwin instead of an parallel twin. Great engine, the 'vibration' which I encountered could well be exemplary or due to the fact that the engine is still running on the off-works motor oil (it had only 550 km on the ODO when I returned it) and still has to run in properly.

The shaft ride is excellent to. Has the S10 shaft ride? No. It must be chain/sprockets... is it? BMW R1200GSA, eat your hart out. The turning circle is that small, that you can wrap the S10 around your ankles. KTM LC8, eat your hart out.

Is there nothing wrong to find here? Well... No. Or it must be the price of € 17.000 incl the silly Dutch taxes...

The Multistrada looks cool, the R1200GSA has the marked, but the S10 will take over both.

Honda has to come with an very, very, very good answer to parade this piece of excellent engineering from Yamaha. And after riding the VFR1200, I can only say that an big trail bike with an V4 won't be it. Not even close. The fact that the introduction of Honda’s new GS beater has been postponed (again) for at least 1 to 1,5 years should tell everything…

For the Dutchies amongst the ADV riders... Get your own testride at www.gebbenmotoren.nl!